Afghanistan: Karzai offers presidential post to Mullah Omar

Kabul: Afghan President Hamid Karzai has offered the spiritual leader of Taliban, Mullah Mohammad Omar, to abandon the wepons and in exchange he could run for political office and even the Afghan presidency.

According to reports, the Afghan President said that the fugitive leader of the Taliban, who is one of the most wanted man in the world, could hold power if enough people voted for him.

He told a news conference: “I repeat my call on all Afghans, those who aren’t the puppets of others and have (only) issues with us at home – they’re welcome for any talks,” the AFP news agency reported.

“Mullah Mohammad Omar can come inside Afghanistan anywhere he wants to. He can open political office for himself but he should leave the gun.”

“He along with his friends can come and create his political party, do politics, become a candidate himself for the elections. If people voted for him, good for him, he can take the leadership in his hand.” Mr Karzai routinely refers to the Taliban as his brothers and calls on them to join talks and renounce violence.

His approaches have been publicly rebuffed so far and as recently as this week the militants issued a statement denying they were in talks with the “stooge Kabul regime”.

Mullah Omar has been on the run since his government was ousted in 2001 and still has a $10 million dollar bounty on his head from the United States government because he “represents a continuing threat to America and her allies”.

The American embassy in Kabul declined to comment on Mr Karzai’s offer.